Can you say SLUMBER PARTY?!

What do you get when 3 nephews of mine have a Monday off of school?!

















A perfect opportunity for a SLUMBER PARTY!!!

We've been wanting to have them sleep over here for sometime now, but there has been one really big problem... I work Saturdays and they have school on Mondays. So with a little help from Martin Luther King day, all the stars aligned in our favor and we finally made it happen!

The boys came over Sunday night with pillows and PJs in hand- ready to party! We played the ever so popular and fun game of Sorry. Which I might add, I play all the time in the hospital, but I am "not allowed to win" (kinda a child life rule). I told the boys to prepare because They were going down! As the game got underway, I realized that that might not be the case! I was not playing against the "sick, hospitalized children" that I was used to! These boys were good! Even J-dog without any help was able to think up strategies and surprise us all! Yeah, all the smack talking I did- did not help. I think I took 3rd!





I then busted out a game that I haven't played for a long time and it was a hit. If you haven't heard of it, it's time to! It is called pass the pigs. The boys really got into it. Its actually a very good game for that age.

(Basic overview- you take these cute little pigs and drop them on the ground and depending on how they land you get certain points. On your turn, you keep rolling the pigs in order to get more points. But the trick is, if they land in one certain way, you loose it all. So you have to decide if you're going to stop and take the points you've already won or risk it all and keep going.)

I was very impressed with these nephews of mine. First of all with how quickly they can add. I would shout out "10+15 is ?" and in a blink of and eye they would answer 25. Even odd numbers 7+11? And without using their fingers (like I do!) they would answer 18 without hesitation. They are on their way to a great future! I learned a lot about them and how they think things through. I was quite impressed. One funny thing that happened. P-Dog kept risking his points and then would loose them all. By the 5th time around he had a whopping score of zero! He was getting frustrated and kept saying how he was a looser. It was my turn and I said to him "stop saying all that negative stuff and say something positive!" I was thinking he would say something like "next time I'm going to get 50 points." But instead this is what I got. "Okay- I hope...um... that YOU get a zero this time!" It was hilarious! I think that I had tears I was laughing so hard. I don't think he understood why that was funny to me. I guess I just wasn't expecting that twist to my inspirational talk! :)

We put on a movie and I was going to be a "cool" aunt and let them stay up a little later, because that's what you do when you sleep over! But once it was 9:01 I was told- by them- that it was bedtime! :) We got them all set up. Don't they look cozy! We had a long talk about the importance of sleeping in! I had great hopes that a magic sleep fairy would appear and they would sleep until at least 9. However, just in case that didn't happen, we talked about what they could do if they woke up before I did (which was 100% possible). Then with their DS's in hand and the lights off, I went up stairs.




At about 6:15AM I was awoken by some giggling downstairs. Sure enough they were all wide awake and ready to wrestle! To keep them quiet so that my roommates wouldn't kill me...we built a fort and put on another movie. It was fun and it helped them keep quiet for a few hours more!

We then cleaned up and headed out for more fun and adventure at Amazing Jakes. Its this HUGE adventure place (Kinda like the 49th street galleria was back in the day before it was overrun by the crazy people!)

Here's us miniature golfing,

I love this picture because I simply said go stand by those people and pretend like you're heading to the beach! And not only did they do it, but they actually posed! So cute!

We also rode the bumper cars (which I couldn't take pictures of since I was being rammed into by which seemed like millions of little kids!)

P-Dog challenged me to a game of air hockey. It was close but at the last minute he hit it in and won! Lucky shot... I let him win...promise...

J-Dog was NOT going to play air hockey. He was quite entertained with this game that you step on the buttons when they light up. He was really good at it and I think got about 70 tickets!

And C-dog is a boy after my own heart! After we played some air hockey- he was all over the video games!



It was a wonderful day- as it always is when I spend time with my nephews and nieces! They are growing up so much! I was also impressed that they didn't ask to do everything and didn't whine. They were so easy going!

Thanks guys for the fun and for making me laugh!

Perks

So it's been 2 weeks now that I have enjoyed this new addition in my life and I have realized that there are some Perks to having a new car.

#1 (The most important one!)

It's a nice weight loss agent! What do I mean? Well... First off... I am still a little un trusting of people. You never know who's going to open their door really fast and slam it into your car in a parking lot. Right.?! (I call it un trusting. Others may refer to it as Paranoid. But whatever.) Therefore, I have been parking a little further back where ever I go. And because of that, I have to walk a lot more and further to get where I am going! Just think of all those extra calories that I am burning!

Secondly, I have also been known as old mother hubbard. I don't go to the grocery store as frequent as I should and have often been known to stand in front of the barren pantry and think that something will appear for dinner. There have been times (probably more than I would like to admit) that as I am driving home from work, I remember my great dilemma of having no food in the house and it seems easier to just pick something up along the way. Well...Since I love love love the "new car smell" I have been avoiding this. I don't want anything to be changing that smell. So my stops on the way home at food places have been completely cut out of my life! (Which means that I am also having to get more creative with my meals since I still haven't changed my habit of how often I shop. Maybe that should be my next thing to work on. But of course I will park far away! ) We'll see how long this lasts!

#2
My fear of tires blowing up is gone. (You probably didn't know that I possessed this fear. But its true. My name is Jill and I am terrified that my tires could blow at any moment as I drive. Thank you.) You see...ever since my flat tire over a year ago where my brother had to come save me... I have been very worried of getting another flat. (Not to mention that I got another flat a few months after that. I didn't blog about it, because I just walked out to my car and found it. There was no trauma/adventure involved). There have been many times as I drive to work that if the road becomes bumpy I can feel my body tense up. I worry for a few miles that it is another flat. I have even been known to pull over , just to check and make sure that all 4 tires and round and plump.
Well, all this nervousness is taken away from me by one little light on the dashboard. If any of the tires are low, a little yellow explanation point will appear. If my car is a little bumpy, my eyes go straight to the dash and all my fears leave. It's funny how I am calmed by a computer in my car. Who knows why... but it works for me! :) Lets hope it doesn't malfunction!

#3 (Not as important, but still fun)

I am one cool Young Woman's leader! The girls love riding around in him!


Oh and as a side note... I kinda think that I found a name for him. I thank you all for your ideas. They were great.
We are still in a trial period, but I am thinking(drum roll please) ... Ready?!
Charlie. What do you think?
We shall see if it sticks.

Is it bad that Charlie has 800 miles on it after 2 weeks? Maybe I need to move closer to work!

Zoom Zoom Zoom

Well you remember Buddy right?

He was my trusty car for 3 years. Yes, we had some hard times together... 2 flat tires, 1 lost hubcap, 2 broken windshields. But all in all he was a good reliable car. He took me back and forth from Utah twice and the many miles to work each day.

Well, as all good things have to come to an end... so did Buddy. He was still running well and I really wasn't having any problems- But it was time for a new car. Buddy is 6 years old now with 100,000 miles and I was beginning to see that he may be falling apart soon.

So what did I do? Called up my big brother to do his favorite thing in the world--- CAR SHOPPING. We went yesterday JUST TO LOOK, but it is amazing what a bad economy will do to car prices. I really wanted a Mazda 3. We test drove one and I loved it. It was a brand new 2009 and sure could zoom! But of course I didn't let the sales people see my excitement. Instead I just let my heart jump up and down while on the outside, I remained stoic.

We looked at the sticker price and Jeff assured me that we could talk them down. I stuck to my guns and wouldn't budge on my offer! And well- the "not budging" paid off and they let me have it for the price I wanted! To be honest I was shocked at how it all came down!

I would like to introduce you to my newest friend!

It wasn't my intention to buy a new car- but I guess in this day and age- you can! Here are just a few more angles for your viewing pleasure. Of course it looks better in person- so I guess you should all come visit me and see him!

Things I love about him:

The smell

The way it types out hello on the dashboard when I turn it on

The way the blinker sounds

Cruise control so I wont speed

Key less entry (Poor buddy did not have this!)

So I am now trying to find a good name for him- what do you think it should be?

Another First!

You know- there comes a time in a girls life when she has to experience things for the first time. It just so happened that this week two major "first" events happened. One with the fish incident of course and then secondly- today... (drum roll please) I GAVE BLOOD!

I know what you're all thinking- aren't you a little too old to have this be your first time? Well...yes I would say to you, but there is a story behind it! (As I'm sure you were all anticipating.)

When I was younger I was HORRIFIED of needles. I remember once that I asked the dentist if there was any way that he could numb my gums without the shot. The answer was of course... No. Therefore I told him that he should do it with no numbing at all. Surly the actual dentistry work wouldn't be as painful as the shot! Right?! I was quite certain about that. However with the first touch of the drill to my tooth- I quickly realized that I was wrong. I opted for the shot.

A few years later while at Ricks I saw that there was blood drive on campus. I knew that it was something that I wanted to overcome simply because I knew that it would help people. I went back and forth for a few days. One day I found myself walking over to the sign up sheet! I was really going to do it! I felt so proud of myself! As I looked at the paper I noticed something. All the time slots were taken up. With a sigh (of what I am sure was relief) I walked away. As I got home, my roommates informed me that you don't HAVE to sign up. They take walk in's. Oh well. My brave moment was over and that was that.

However, as the years have gone by- a miraculous thing as happened... The fear has left! How you ask?! Well- I shall answer you. My job!

You see- As I have pursued my career in Child Life I have been amazed that I have actually "Child Lifed" myself. What does that mean? Well, in order to help familiarize kids to the hospital and needle pokes we facilitated medical play. We take actual needles and let the kids (under supervision) go at it on the hospital dolls. Over time with a few pokes to the doll- the kids are able to process their many blood draws etc. and the goal is to help them understand it more and make it a little easier. As for myself, I have given thousands of IV's to dolls and in the process somehow I've been cured!

Proof- within the last few months I have had multiple blood tests (Which came back that I don't have celiac's! Happy Day!) And have had NO problem with the needle as they do it.

Well, I figured now that that fear was over, it was time to give blood. I was so excited as we drove to the church a few months back. Since my roommate offered to drive, I just stuck my phone in my pocket and jumped in the car. We drove the 30 minutes and entered the church. I waited in line and it was then that I realized that you have to have ID (well yeah. NOW it makes sense.) That thought didn't even cross my mind then! So since I only had my phone and despite the fact that EVERY person in the room knew my name and could back me up, I was unable to give blood. I left with my head down and feet dragging. I was bummed!

And thats where we stood- until today. FINALLY I was able to enter the room fully confident- with my ID- and ready to roll. I answered all the questions, sat in my chair and didn't even flinch! :)

I left feeling great! Finally I conquered my fear and hopefully someone will get help as well! :) It was a good day!

I'm growing up!

I used to be a picky eater. When my family would go to Chinese restaurants, I would order a hamburger. I would usually be the last one at the dinner table when Stew was served because I just didn't want to eat it! And I would do anything to get out of eating stir fry.

As the years have gone by, I have learned to love each of those things. However- Fish was a NO GO! Tuna- okay. But that was IT!

When I went on my mission, I was forced to not only eat fish, but have it served full fish and all- with the head, eyes and tail! It was quite an experience. I never fully enjoyed it, but you do what you gotta do. I have had fish since then, but never by choice...until today.

I live with major fish eaters. Especially eaters of shrimp. Each time they make it, they offer it to me and I usually say no. A few weeks ago, I agreed and it wasn't too bad. Then yesterday we made a super yummy pasta dish and my roommate added shrimp and dare I say it... I kinda liked it! Then here's the clincher... today we took my roommate out for lunch for her birthday. Of course she chose a fish place! I ordered a cobb salad ( I know...) but get this... when the waiter asked if I wanted chicken or shrimp- I said SHRIMP! I almost shocked myself! When he brought it out, I kinda stared at my plate for a minute. I couldn't believe my plate and what I had order all on my own! I was so proud of myself! I am growing up and trying new things! (I still have a ways to go however... the first one was great but because they were jumbo shrimp it kinda got fishy-er as I continued eating. Maybe next time I will be able to finish them all! :) )

Then... to add on top of it, my roommate ordered Alligator and of course you have to try that! It wasn't too bad. Granted- it was fried, and what ISN'T good fried! :) I know you're all super impressed!

Yea for Christmas!

I have very fond memories sitting in my house in Utah with all the lights off except for the ones on the Christmas tree- listening to Christmas music. There is such a peace that Chrsitmas brings. Therefore, this year- I wanted to bring that feeling to my home here in Arizona. I really got in the mood to decorate. My roommate bought a little tree and one day when I just happened to be at Target, I saw so many beautiful things to decorate it! Right then and there I decided to take it upon myself to set the mood for Christmas! So I made the tree all perdy... (Why is it that the pictures never turn out as nice as the real thing?!)

Also- this was the first year that I put out my nativity from Nicaragua. When we went back to visit after my mission, we bought these. They are carved out of the stone in the mountains of Nicaragua. I think that it is beautiful, but never really knew where to put it until we got the piano.

I love coming home to this welcoming scene! Christmas really is the MOST wonderful time of the year! :)

Unexpected

So yesterday I received a text from my boss. It read "There is only 1 patient on the floor, so PTO is an option if you want." Well- I always enjoy a day off- especially if my boss initiates it! So..without even hesitating I said yes! (Actually, I do believe that it was an "oh yeah!")

So my roommate and I headed out for a little adventure. While running one morning she saw this big rock pile/mountain and had it set in her mind that she would conquer it. So after a nice brunch we headed off the be the queens of the rock hill.

It really only took 5 minutes to climb but it was a nice view. Even though in the back of my mind I really worried that we were in rattlesnake country and that at any moment I would hear some hissing. Luckily- it stayed silent! This is the type of rock climbing that I like! :)

Here is the loverly view

It was really windy up there, but super peaceful. You can see the whole Phoneix valley!

It doesn't look like I am very high, - but I guess you just have to use your imagination! :)

It was funny because as we drove up there, we noticed that all along the side of the street there were signs that said "No parking. Fire lane". Well, we really wanted to hike it and we really were only going to be up there for 10 minutes. So we compromised and I parked here.. I parked on the inside! Hee Hee! I beat the system! :)

Happy Day off to me! :)